FARM LAND RATING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22397, 19 October 1934, Page 14

FARM LAND RATING

«W- . ABOLITION OR REVISION URGED REPRESENTATIONS BY FARMERS DAIRY COMMISSION UNIMPRESSED During the sittings of the Dairy Industry Commission a number of witnesses asked that consideration should be given to the total or partial derating of farm lands. Some of the witnesses desired that rates for the construction and maintenance of roads should be levied only in respect of purely local roads, and that the State should assume the sole responsibility for the construction and maintenance of all arterial roads, whether main or secondary, in rural areas. Other witnesses suggested an alteration of the incidence of rating for hospital boards, and submitted that hospital levies should be assessed as between urban and rural areas on a population basis. Others drew attention to the hardship suffered by settlers in special-rating areas, in which, owing to some of the settlers having abandoned their holdings, the whole burden of special rates fell upon the'settlers who were struggling to retain their holdings. In so far as road rates are concerned, the commission states in its report that while it may be conceded that arterial roads traversing rural; districts are largely used by persona who pass over them while proceeding from one point outside the district to another point outside the district; the streets of boroughs and -town, districts are similarly used by through traffic. The demand for better roads, which followed the development of motor transport, led to the creation of the Highways Board. That board, out of revenues derived from special taxation levied on petrol and tyres, has expended large sums on the reconstruction of roads, and has relieved local bodies of a considerable part of the cost of road construction and maintenance. RELIEF IN SPECIAL CASES ■ The commission is of the opinion that the evidence does not warrant it in making a recommendation for the derating of farm lands. It makes the suggestion, however, that the Government should consider the granting of special relief in cases in which an undue burden falls on the ratepayers of a particular area. One such instance. was mentioned by a witness. A special-rating area was created, and the construction- of the necessary roads was financed by means of a loan from a State lending department, Owing to the depression many of the settlers in the area abandoned tjjeir holdings. The properties abandoned were mortgaged to the same State lending department, which is exempt from liability for rates due thereon. The result is that the onus of paying a rate sufficient to meet the loan charges falls on the few remaining settlers; and it appears that, unless some relief is given, the State Department that lent the money for road-construction and financed the individual settlers will eventually come into possession of all the lands. In that case, the burden of the loan charges will be the responsibility of the County _ Council within the jurisdiction of which the special-rating area is situated. In cases similar to this, and in cases where, _ owing to special circumstances, a special hardship arises, it appears to ns to be desirable that a special subsidy should be made available to the local body concerned. At the present time the Government grants a general subsidy on local rates, but there seems to be justification for special consideration being given to particular eases. HOSPITAL BOARD LEVIES Regarding the levies made annually by hospital boards, the present system is that each hospital board determines the total sum that it requires and apportions that sum among the local bodies within its area in accordance with the capital value of the lands in the districts controlled by the respective local bodies. Each local body collects through its own rating system its share of the hospital levy and pays it to the hospital board. The suggestion made by some of the witnesses was that the apportionment as between urban and rural local bodies Should be made on a population basis instead of on a value basis. Wa have examined the statistical position as given In the New Zealand Local Authorities Handbook for 1934, and we find that the hospital rates levied by boroughs and independent town districts for the financial year, 1032 ? 33 amounted to £291,457, and that those* levied by counties and dependent towm districts amounted to £251,660. The urban population is approximately 60 per cent, of the total, and it appears, therefore, that at the present time urban and rural areas are being levied upon by hospital boards in almost direct ratio to their respective populations. The difference is so small as not to warrant an alteration being made in the system; and the difference that exists is being progressively reduced by reason of the trend of population to the towns.

On the general question of rating, it should not be overlooked that residents in urban areas also have a heavy burden of rates to meet, and that any relief given to residents in rural areas must be at the expense of urban residents. Further, in both urban and rural areas, the local bodies are elective, and accordingly the power of controlling, within limits, tire expenditure of local authorities is in the hands of the electors themselves.